A. Grenser

Carl August Grenser (11 Nov 1720—4 May 1807), also known as Karl Augustin Grenser, was a celebrated German maker of woodwind instruments, founder of the family dynasty, uncle of Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Grenser (1764—1813). Grenser engraved his builds as A. GRENSER. Born in Wiehe, a small town in Thuringia, central Germany, Carl Augustin apprenticed with Johann Poerschmann in Leipzig from approx. 1733 to '39, when he relocated to Dresden. In 1744, Carl A. Grenser opened his workshop. His flutes and bassoons gained an excellent reputation across Europe, and in 1753, A. Grenser received a prestigious 'Kurfürstliche-Sächsischer Hofinstrumentenmacher' title (exclusive instrument-builder for Saxon Court). In 1796, Carl Augustin retired and handed his shop over to his younger brother Johann Friedrich Grenser's son Heinrich Grenser, Carl's nephew and son-in-law.